Temesgen Desalegn,

Gender: Male
Radio Journalist

At around 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 26, police officers detained Temesgen Desalegn, chief editor of privately owned Feteh magazine, from his office in Addis Ababa, the capital, according to news reports, his lawyer Henok Aklilu, who spoke to CPJ via phone, and a Facebook post by the journalist’s brother, Tariku Desalegn. Also on May 26, at around 1:00 p.m., plainclothes police officers arrested Yayesew Shimelis, administrator of the YouTube news channel Ethio Forum, from his home in Addis Ababa, according to news reports and two people familiar with his case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, for safety concerns. Both journalists were brought before the Federal First Instance Court, Arada Branch, on Friday, which granted police an extension of the journalists’ custody pending investigation into allegations that they committed crimes against the state, according to these same sources. Police accused Temesgen of inciting violence and public disturbance through unspecified interviews published on YouTube and accused him of working to create discord between the public and the military, according to Henok. He told CPJ the accusations were unfounded given that Temesgen had not appeared in a YouTube interview in at least four years. Temesgen is due back in court on May 30.

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